India Energy Storage Alliance was invited to demonstrate latest Energy Storage Solutions at Innovation Showcase Pavilion at Clean Energy Ministerial on 17th-18th April in New Delhi.Â Innovation Showcase Pavilion (ISP) was part of CEM to exhibit innovative products and services that can accelerate the global deployment of clean energy. The ISP was inaugurated on the evening of 16 April by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu presiding over a ribbon-cutting ceremony. At this occasion, IESA released the "Energy Storage in India: Market Assessment" report, the 1st of it's kind assessment of energy storage market potential in India.

The report highlightsÂ some of the potential drivers that could lead to the growth of ESS in India: Â Â Â

Optimizing the supply and demand imbalance: Indiaâs peak power shortages result in reliance on very expensive diesel power as backup for industries, commercial establishments as well as residential complexes.

Introduction of ancillary service markets: CERC is currently working on policy framework to introduce ancillary markets in India with initial focus on frequency regulation. Based on the supply â demand mismatch and the anticipated share of variable renewable resources in the supply mix, various experts at the Regional Load Dispatch Centers (system operators) anticipate that India needs to allocate 2-3% of the generation as frequency regulation resource to improve the grid frequency. Based on the current installed capacity of 212 GW, this could result in a frequency regulation market size of 4-5 GW to open up with in next 12-18 months once CERC finalizes the regulations.

Transmission & Distribution (T&D) upgrade deferral:Â The Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has planned to invest INR 1,30,000 crores (US $ 26 billion) in the expansion of the transmission program for the next five to six years in India.

Micro grid opportunities for Special Economic Zones (SEZs): Micro grid concepts by integrating various locally available distributed resources for ensuring power availability for the occupants are of interest to SEZs / townships that are drivers of economic growth in India.

Rural Electrification: Despite massive rural electrification plans, India has nearly 54,000 un-electrified villages. In most of the electrified villages not only the connected households are a fraction of the total but for many villages power is available for less than 8 hours per day. Off-grid power generation augmented by local renewable energy (wind, solar, bio, hydro) in a micro-grid mode is therefore an attractive option to energize nearly 125,000 villages. Under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) 90% grant is provided by government of India and 10% as loan by Rural Electrification Corporation to the state governments.Â

Energy efficiency improvement opportunities in large energy intensive industries: Bureau of Energy Efficiency has launched Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) mechanism for improving efficiency of energy intensive industries. It can be feasible to integrate appropriate ESS technology along with other possible energy efficiency measures for the reduction in peak demand and specific energy consumption.

Telecom Sector: India has one of the largest telecom markets in the world with over 300,000 telecom towers, majority of which need back up power using renewables. Also there is growing need for backup solutions for data centers in the India to replace diesel generators.

Electrifying the transportation sector: Indian government has allocated INR ~20,000 crores (US $ ~4 billion) over the next eight years to promote hybrid and pure electric vehicles, through research and development, infrastructure and subsidies under National Electric Mobility Mission PlanÂ (NEMMP) 2020 with a goal of adoption of 6 million Hybrid (HEVs)and Electric Vehicles (EVs) across various customer segments.

Customer Segments for ESS in India

Opportunities for ESS can be divided into major customer segments. A technology provider can strategically focus on specific customer segments and gain first mover advantage in those segments.

Commercial & Industrial (C & I)sector

SEZs &Â Townships

Telecom industry

Wind power developers/owners

Solar power developers

Rural electrification and microgrids

Electric transportation

Agricultural sector

Military and Defense sector

Market Potential for ESS in India

Based on the continued economic growth in India and the huge push given by various initiatives by Indian government for energy security, environmental concern, at IESA we did a detailed analysis to understand the potential market for ESS in India. Based on our analysis we estimate a market potential of over 15 GW for all types of ESS technologies (including thermal storage) in India through 2020. The chart below shows the various market segments and anticipated market size.

Figure 2: Market potential for ESS through 2020 (MW)

With this potential market size, and the possibility of bringing down the cost of ESS through localization, we believe that Indian market holds the potential to be a game changer for the global energy storage industry.

For more information or purchasing the report, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.